Every time I slip on this wonderful 1980s does 1940s, the classic 1980s hit "Walking on Sunshine" from Katrina and the Waves always pops into my head and put a big smile on face. I love yellow, but own very little, as most shades of it tend not to jive well with my colouring. Luckily however, I've found some shades on the lighter and darker spectrum that do, including this warm mustard hue, which just makes me adore this dress all the more.

These snaps were taken back when the sizzling summer light was still out in full force and one could easily wear short sleeves well into the evening. In fact, it was a shoulderingly hot day where the sun overhead really did seem to match the frock I was sporting. Tony and I had been out running errands for much of the afternoon and I was pretty darn knackered by the time these snaps were taken, but luckily that fact didn't show on my face as much as I'd worried it might in the moment.

Unlike last year, which delivered an absolute bumper crop of yard sale treasures (as you may recall from this post and later this one), 2013's season teetered on the edge of being dubbed dismal. Now, granted, I wasn't able to make it to quite as many as in the previous year, but those that we did hit between April and September were typically very small and lacking in vintage. At first it seemed like my only noteworthy find of the season would be a great pair of brown vintage appropriate wedge sandals (seen here) found in the late spring, but as it turned out, there was indeed to be a second highly memorable score.

Like many a vintage fan, I adore Bakelite, but I own very little of it. My only pieces to date being either wonderful gifts or (super occasionally) thrifted finds. Whenever I'm at a yard sale (or anywhere else with vintage/second hand items), I keep my eyes peeled for Bakelite, having heard so many awesome tales over the years from other vintage gals of the pieces they've scored for bargin basement prices at garage sales and flea markets.

At a yard sale where a chap was selling a mixture of vintage and newer items located just one street over from the house where I lived for a few years as a child here in Penticton, I began hunting through a multi-drawer box with various costume jewelry items in it and stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted the large marbled green bangle seen in the photos above here. I quickly gave it the good, ol’ rub and smell test. Nothing turned up, but it had the right weight and colouring (and no seams), and my gut instinct was screaming that it was Bakelite.

Naturally, excited as I was, I played it cool as a cucumber and casually asked the fellow what he wanted for the bracelet. He hummed and hawed for moment and tentatively tossed out a price tag of five dollars. As much as I suspected that I was holding vintage Bakelite, just in case it wasn't, I wanted to land a really good price and countered with three. One glance at his expression told me I'd gone a little too low, so in the next breath I shot back with $3.50 and a smile, and moments later was walking merrily back towards the car with my gorgeous green treasure in hand.

I rubbed and I rubbed, then my mom (who was with me that day) rubbed, but neither of us could call up that glorious Bakelite scent. "It's Bakelite, I swear", I kept saying to her as we drove off to the next sale, and later that day when I got home, handed the bracelet to my wonderfully strong husband to rub, and then sniffed again, I was proved right. A few seconds under Tony's powerful fingers and the piece sang with that distinct formaldehyde-esque scent, and I beamed ear-to-ear with happiness.

It took many, many years of patience and diligence, but I had finally found vintage Bakelite at a yard sale! None of the other sales we hit throughout the rest of the summer delivered further Bakelite or particularly special finds (a small number of cute little trinkets and costume jewelry items, but that's it), but thanks to this marvelous verdant bangle, the season doesn't feel like it was a bust in the slightest.

In fact, it will always stand out as one of my favourites. Finds like this don't come along these days in 21st century small town Canada (well, at least not in my small town), and one can only guess how long it will be before another yard sale offers up a Bakelite gem like this again - if luck strikes twice at all, that is.

Eternal optimist that I am, I like to think it will, and that I might even score my next Bakelite bangle for less than $3.00! :)

What a wonderful find! The greatest treasure I found this year was at an estate sale. It was an early 1930's Simplicity UNDERPINNINGS(!!!) pattern! I was so stoked, I could hardly keep from screaming! :)

Haha, I totally understand the "It's gotta be bakelite, rub it again!!" feeling! Congratulations on living the vintage dream and finding a giant bakelite bracelet at a garage sale! That's so exciting, and I'm super happy for you! I'm sure the incredible deal makes the bracelet even more delightful!

I love your yellow dress! It goes so well with your skin tone! I too, have trouble with wearing yellow because my olive-y-ish skin doesn't like it too well. The one time I have found bakelite was at a large thrift store. There were 4 pieces being sold in a bundle for $1.99! They are spacer-sized, but I was so happy to find them. I did the rubbing test, and they showed their true colors almost immediately. Hahahah I bet it looks pretty weird to bystanders though, seeing some weird girl rubbing and sniffing bracelets. Hope your having a lovely October :)

Fabulous find! I don't have any of the uber thin Bakelite spacers yet. They're really pretty. I've seen a few people just wear armfuls of those, and it's such a great look unto itself.

I've been rubbing bangles for so many years now, I don't even notice if other people are watching me do so any more. No worries if they are, a few stares are worth it for the prospect of hitting Bakelite gold! :) (I've got Tony "trained" do to it now too, it's so cute!)

cool find - and cool price for this piece of beauty :-)a had the same last weekend at flea market with a huge gorgeous russian wool shawl, black and red and gold and fringes and all! no flaws! after i checked the thing with a bored face behind sunglasses i asked for the price - 10€ - i went away and talked to hubby to get the shawl for less. he did it for 7€.but the thing is worth a lot more, i think it´s handpainted. and beautiful to no end :-)watch out for pictures.....

Thank you very much, darling Beate. Oh my word, your shawl sounds exquisite! Congratulations on such an awesome find! Please don't hesitate to post snaps of it on your blog anytime, I would adore seeing it (did you know, I have some Russian heritage? It's one of numerous awesome European ethnicities that make up my ancestry).

yes, i remember. we talk about your russian heritage at the case of pliny / pancakes :-)and i can see it in your pretty face - cheekbones, eyes.......weekend i get the hubby to took some pictures! love b.

*Light bulb goes off* that's right, I'm sorry. I do not have the best short term memory by any stretch of the imagination (due primarily to near constant "brain fog" from some of my conditions and meds), and apologize for forgetting about that. I love that you can see it in my face. Tony has always said from the get-go that he can as well. I wish I'd been brought up with more of the culture - it's always fascinating me a great deal (as do the other cultures that I have in my DNA :)).

What a wonderful story and a beautiful find! I have a few pieces that didn't smell at first too. I guess there's just a lot of old patina on those things sometimes. Thank goodness for rough husband hands!! :)

What a wonderful find! I love looking for treasures when I am out, the excitement when you discover that special piece, the heart rate elevates, the pulse quickens, and the jubilation as you are bringing it home. Congrats!

KA-POW! That dress packs a punch! I love yellow, but sadly cannot wear it, so I enjoy seeing it on those who can. It always makes me smile. Seeing such vibrancy was especially welcomed today as it has been very grey outside my window as of late. Your post was a little ray of sunshine in my otherwise color-deprived morning.

Congrats on the bakelite find, too. I love that you bargained for a bargain.

Thank you very much, honey! I'm delighted to know that I helped bring a much needed splash of vibrancy to your day with this post. It's grey as a cement out there for us today, too.

I steadfastly believe that anyone can wear any colour, it's just a matter of finding the right shade. Please don't give up on yellow, if you like it. There must be a shade out there with your name written all of it (trust me, it took me a while to find mine, too).

Thanks! I'll almost always bargain on a bargain - nothing ventured as they say! :)

Woooaahh! That is the stuff of vintage treasure hunting legend! I love it! I don't own any Bakelite - I can shell out a pretty penny for a vintage dress, but a bangle?! Not so much...and I have never come across Bakelite in a thrift store or yard sale here. But this story gives me renewed hope! I will be checking the bangles on my trip to the thrift shop this afternoon for sure! haha!

It warms my heart to know that my find helps renew your hope of lucking out and stumbling upon a similar Bakelite treasure for a total song. I suspect that there are far less of them here in Canada, than gals in the US have/stand to still find, but every now and then one strikes pay dirt still and I'm sure you will some day (hopefully multiple times!), too. Keep rubbing those bangles - your Bakelite treasure is out there!!!

Hooray for great finds! And I too completely understand the feeling of knowing it's bakelite but not being able to immediately prove it. Sometimes that lack of proof is what gets you the deal though - the seller can't tell either so they price it in the lesser-desired plastics end of the spectrum. Just in case someone wants another bakelite tip- if your unproven piece is safe to get wet (no paint, glue, etc that would be harmed by a little swim) dunk it in some hot water when you get home. Sometimes that heat will call up the scent when rubbing won't. I nearly gave myself a blister one time trying to vet a bracelet, but a nice dunk in some hot hot water when I got home quickly did the trick. And saved my thumb from further injury, hahaha.

Hooray seconded!!! Thank you, darling gal! I could tell instantly that this seller, a friendly chap - very approachable, didn't know it was Bakelite. Old, yes, but he didn't say the "B word" and neither did I, I was just crossing my fingers and waiting to get back to the car to start rubbing that bangle something fierce.

That's a great tip, thank you very much for sharing! I know the Bakelite basics, but am not an expert. Hopefully one day! :)

I do not know the term "bakelite" although I am equally happy to you find a treasure ... Maybe you could write a post (at some point) on the tips to differentiate Bakelite, of the normal plastic. A thousand kisses, my sweet Jessica.

Hi sweet Rosy, I'm so happy to have introduced you to Bakelite. It's a really fantastic material and the number of gorgeous items that have been produced using it over the years is nothing short of mind blowing. I'm not a Bakelite expert really, but I am working on learning more all the time - and finding pieces like this certainly help on that front. Here are some of my fave Bakelite post from other vintage loving ladies that are great introductions to the subject of Bakelite jewelry:

I love this outfit on you:) I have had no luck this year at yard sales!! Congrats on the great vintage find. I didn't comment on the previous post but it was beautifully written. I got "sick" as they call it when I was 5 so I know no other life than the one I live now. I can see how hard it would have been so hard to adjust to a new way of living at just 18, it sound like things are going great for you now, keep focusing on that:)

Thank you very much, sweet Daphne. I commend your fortitude and bravery in the face of a life of chronic illness to no end. I don't think there is any age at which becoming CI (chronically ill) doesn't alter one's life - and the years that lay ahead of them - profoundly. I accepted my situation as best as possible very early on. I've never felt sorry for myself and never will. I try not to focus on the things that I can't do, but rather on what I can and on many blessings - like my husband, this blog and the vintage community, the fact that I live in a great country - instead. No matter how rough a day I'm having on the health, taking stock of the good always helps get me through.

What a great find! I like bakelite but hadn't been that lucky either... that was until I scored a Bakelite Scottie dog brooch for a few pounds at a vintage fair at the weekend!!

Yard sales and estate sales sound amazing though! We don't have such a thing in the UK and I'm always a little bit envious when I hear about the treasures that bloggers across the pond stumble upon at these places.

Lovely outfit and what a great find! I have been lucky enough to find Bakelite at flea markets and used clothes stores. My latest find was last Friday. I went to our local Elks flea market and bought a pair of red Bakelite earrings for 10 cents. I wasn't sure they were Bakelite or not but for 10 cents I could stand to take the chance. Last year, I also found a pair of Bakelite clip ons.

Awesome find! That makes my bangle look "expensive" by comparison! :D I think that there was a lot more Bakelite to begin with in the US than Canada (and possibly the rest of the world, but I'll let a Bakelite history expert be the judge of that, not me), which is not so great for me, but wonderful for yourself and other collectors in the States. I really hope your luck keeps up, honey - $0.10 is flat out incredible for a pair of vintage Bakelite earrings!

Oooh, colours! That's my cup of tea. Blues and reds, greens and yellows. What could be better as a mix of all these colours. I love your outfit and you made a great job to take the picture in front of this beautiful blue wall.You were lucky to find such a treasure like the bakelite bangle. It's funny cause I own a very similar one that I bought for more than your 3.50 $. But mine is plastic - definitely. It's pretty too - but alas not bakelite. Btw the scarf around your head is the icing on the cake.

I am adoring this story! It's an absolute dream come true and it actually happened for you! Honestly, I have to admit that I give it up for all early plastics, even ones that aren't very rare! I have a little celluloid mantle clock that I don't even have a key to wind, I just love the look of it! So for real -- hearing that a vintage-lover once found REAL Bakelite at a garage sale is a myth made real! Truly a magical story. Plus, the appearance of Tony at the end makes it particularly awesome. :)

Even now, a few months later, it still seems a little surreal. Though it wasn't my first Bakelite piece, it was my first one from a yard sale, and after so many years of rubbing (bangles) in vain, I had to pinch myself when I got home and we determined that it was indeed real. Best $3.50 I've spent this year, and quite possibly ever when it comes to jewelry.

I sincerely hope that the Bakelite gods smile on you one day, too! Please let me know if they do - I'd really like to hear your tale of yard sale Bakelite love at first sight.

Thank you so much, lovely lady (you're very welcome). That scarf is one of my newest (it was also a yard sale find from this summer) and I just love that it's colour palette lends it to working with a wide range of dresses/shirt/sweaters, from yellow to red to black (and of course, green, too). I think it was $0.25, so this is certainly a bargain filled ensemble! :)

I love the colours in these photographs. Your outfit and accessories pop against that lovely blue wall. I find yellow a very difficult colour to wear, well done on find a shade to suit you so well. Like the colours and print of the headscarf too and those marvellous green beads. Well done on your great Bakelite find.

you look divine as always! yellow is one of my favorite colors and it looks great on you and the bakelite is beautiful. I have yet to get any bakelite but I long to one day, my hope is for a bakelite dog pin of some kinds

Thank you very much, dear Katie! It really was an incredible feeling to stumble upon such a treasure - and for such a smashing bargain - right here in my own town. I really hope that it's one of those cases where lightning will strike twice (or, you know, a hundred times) when the next yard sale season rolls around.

Congratulations on a great find! Perseverence does pay off, in the end, and I'm sure there are many more jackpots waiting for you out there =) I adore the yellow dress on you, such a perfect solour, and just seeing the image popup in my blogreader brought a smile to my face. Walking on sunshine and spreading it! The yellow looks smashing on you, and the accent of green really brings it home for me (the matching necklace, belt and bakelite band is just awesome).

I've done a few real finds during the years, but none as great as my 80s Bernina overlocker that I bought through the swedish version of Craiglist. For 30 euro. Fully functional and in great condition, I've used it extensivly for 2 years and plan on continuing doing so for about 20 more years =)(I posted about it here: http://swinginvintage.blogspot.se/2011/01/christmas-dress-but-for-new-years-eve.html )

Thank you very much, honey! It definitely does - and it it also goes to prove (if only to myself) that one can strike vintage fashion pay dirt still at yard sales here in Canada. That overlocker a stellar find, too, thank you for sharing about it with me. Isn't it an amazing, joy inducing feeling when you find something your love and really want/need for a smashing bargain like that?

Jessica, I collect arm candy too. Can you tell me more about Bakelite please? It sounds like a collector item. And is the only way to identify it by rubbing it? Does one rub it onto one's hand or fabric or? Are there any other markers for identifying Bakelite?

Hi Sue, thank you very much for your lovely comment and question. Bakelite was one of the first forms of (fire resistant) plastics to hit the mainstream market. It was light weight, easy to shape (and dye various colours), and at the time, typically quite affordable. It began life as an industrial material (at the turn of the last century), but its use quickly spread to other applications, too, one of the most popular and wide spread of which was the jewelry industry (one also sees Bakelite being used on everything from radios to cutlery handles, cigarette holders to telephones during the 1920s-40s, in particular).

The fact that Bakelite was inexpensive to manufacture, and the pieces created with it were typically quite budget friendly, really helped its popularity sores, especially during the Depression years and then through WW2, when most metals were needed for the war effort (not for use on the jewelry front)

Though Bakelite jewelry's production declined after the 1940s (and especially after the 50s), it retained a devoted legion of fans, and it's popularity as a collector's item really began to take off in the 1980s, with it throngs of fans hunting for and buying vintage pieces ever since. Today, though one can sometimes luck out and find a bargain every now and then, most sellers are aware of its worth and that there's a thriving market for it, so they price according.

Here are some posts (I haven't written one myself yet, though I suspect that as time goes on and my knowledge on the subject, as well as my own Bakelite jewelry collection, grows, I will) written by fellow vintage bloggers that are a great starting point for expanding one's knowledge on Bakelite (including how to identify it):

I don't have any bakelite simply because they're too big for my tiny wrist but I also admire them! And hey I always think the thrill of spotting a gem in a great price beats buying a beautiful dress with a normal price. Last month I scored a 1940s Corde bag NOS for $10 and then found out they're usually about 70-90 bucks. Score!

Thank you very much, honey! Oooh, I have tiny wrists (and hands), too, but usually find that vintage bangles are able to stay put, especially if I place a smaller one closest to my hand and stack slightly bigger ones behind it. I've seen some (30s-40s) celluloid bracelets before that were extremely small - as well as some that were designed originally for children - so perhaps you might have better luck with celluloid than Baketlite (total theory). Would you like me to let you know if I come across any Bakelite bangles online that are being listed as having an especially small wrist diameter?

You super lucky lady, you! I was searching high and low for a well priced corde bag when we were in Calgary (and in general for quite some time now), but no dice. $10.00 is a stellar price for these days - congrats on your fabulous score!!!

Super colors all around! Love the bakelite and there's lots of it around here, but always very expensive! Your green is marvelous and you've got a real treasure there! Also, what a stellar instagram photo of your beloved Calgary, beautifully illustrating your heart-felt reflection on your life then and now.

Yellow is my favorite color, but I don't look nearly as good in it as you do. You truly look like sunshine. I have yet to find actual bakelite somewhere, but I look every chance I get. Here's hoping we both find more ;)

Score! That's a big one too! Well if anyone deserves it, it's you my dear. Funny, I get so hesitant to ever smell test in situations like that. Just in case me smelling it would make someone realize their mistake and they'd change the price? For example, I found 2 rootbeer ones the other day in a dollar bin..... in a freaking antique store. I just couldn't get myself to rub em in front of the owner, for he should've known better.

Score right back at yah, darling gal! Wowzers, that's amazing. It's one thing to stumble across bargain Bakelite in a thrift store or yard sale setting, but an antique store? Virtually unheard of these days. Awesome luck - rootbeer is one of my faves. I have a rootbeer-esque fakelite bangle, but not one of the real deal yet. I too would have been very hesitant to do the sniff test in a place like that. At a yard sale or thrift store though, I'll usually covertly do so. If something is dirt cheap usually though, I'll just buy it no matter what. I love all kinds of vintage bangles, be they genuine Bakelite or not, so if I think sometime's pretty and it fits my budget, that's all the convincing I need to buy it. Lucking out and scoring Bakelite, just makes my find all the more awesome. :)

Thanks! I love that shape, too - it works really well as both as stand alone piece and as a spacer.

Yes, this yellow does suit you well my sunny sweet girl :) Love the scarf too!I'm so happy you found a bake-lite, indeed it takes the dismal out of this summers lack of finds!I wonder how many bakelite treasures I've past up in my many years of yard sales not knowing what they were, I imagine many.

Thank you very much, my sweet friend. I'm still buzzing with happiness about it, too. I really wonder if luck will strike twice and I'll unearth another great Bakelite piece at a yard sale in 2014? Maybe all it took was one such find to get the ball rolling? Too optimistic? :)

I've wondered that as well, when I think back to my early childhood and young teen days of yard saling and thrifting, before I knew to look far and wide for vintage Bakelite pieces. You can't kick yourself too much when it comes those kinds of things though. It's just great that we know to look for them now.

What luck! I've never found bakelite at a yardsale. And it looks like quite a nice green bangle! You dress is such a lovely colour as well. I love the colour combination of the yellow with the reds and greens. It's not normally a combination I'm draw to but you make it work :)

Thank you very much, dear Kate. Red + yellow + green can certainly run the risk of veering into traffic light (or Christmas decor) territory, however if you keep the portions of one or two of the colours considerably small than the lead hue, I find you're usually pretty safe there. This yellow dress is actually surprisingly versatile in terms of the colours it can work with. I'd go so far as to say it falls into the pseudo-neutral zone.

Yellow looks good on you, really does, dear.I have to say it - you gave the dress quite the enhancement (on the already gorgeous state that the dress is, itself) by adding perfect accessorizes (thank the Force for the spell-check, otherwise I'd never ever get this word right.. pardon my Engrish) :)

Thank you very much, sweetheart! I'm having a blast discovering just how many colours this vivid, classic shade of yellow plays well with. Brown, orange, aqua, fuschia, purple, grey (really like it with grey!), the list goes on, and I hope to share outfits involving all of them here over time.

You're English is always lovely and easy to understand, it's okay, please don't worry at all.

Hi sweet Kim, thank you very much for your lovely comments today. My tattoo (my only bit of ink to date...I'd love to get more some day) says "poet". I wrote a bit about its story in this post this past February: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2013/02/by-request-sampling-of-my-poetry.html

That would be tons of fun! Anytime! You might have to come visit for a few weeks, as vintage can take a while to find (aka, hitting the sales for a few weekends in a row), but luckily a bit still exists here and there - especially cute, kitschy collectibles, records, and housewares.

Thank you very much, sweetheart! Would you believe it, this wall is within walking distance (maybe 20-25 minutes) from my house? It's true. It's one of the walls (some are light yellow, some are blue) on the outside of a local indoor skating rink (and one of the only blue walls I know of anywhere around here - I wouldn't be surprised if we shoot there again sometime).

isn't is great with amazing things that you're always looking for just find their way to you somehow and you know they're meant to be yours? great finding and a lovely outfit as always, yellow is definitely your colour! :)

Congratulations on your bangle treasure. :) I have inherited a bangle from my granny which I suspect is bakelite, and I have rubbed and rubbed with no luck. Perhaps I sould let DH rub it. It has no seams either and the age is right. You look lovely in yellow and I love how you wear green with yellow, so adorable. :)

Thank you very much, dear Sanne! Ooohh, how awesome that you inherited a possible Bakelite piece! Yes, you should definitely have your husband rub it and do the smell test, too. Sometimes they really need a good rub before to comes to the surface - whereas others give it off at almost the faintest caress. I love bangles of all sorts, be they Bakelite or not (celluloid is another firm favourite of mine), but there is something especially awesome about finding, or being given, a Bakelite treasure. They usually have such a solid feeling to them, you just sense the weight of their history in them.

I'm Jessica, a lifelong lover of all things antique and vintage, especially those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

This blog is my visual scrapbook in which I record and share my thoughts on the multitude of sources, people and products that inspire and feed a modern gal's addiction to the past. I also post about the vintage clothes, hairstyles and make-up looks that I adore wearing.

Stay a spell and have a blast as we explore the incomparably fantastic world of vintage history and fashion together.

All images used on this site are credited to their original posters/creators/sources,
however if at any time you would prefer not to see one of your images here, please email me and I'll take it down right away.

PS...I just wanted to say thank you very much for visiting and to tell you that you're equal parts awesome and beautiful.